Wimbledon 2026 Sees Major Upsets as Mertens and Kostyuk Advance

Saturday at Wimbledon produced two of the tournament's most surprising outcomes. Alice Mertens of Belgium erased former champion Elena Rybakina from the field with a 7-6(4) 6-1 victory, while Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk dispatched Emma Navarro 6-2 4-6 6-1 to secure her first-ever fourth‑round berth.

Mertens' win came after a tightly contested first set that featured multiple service exchanges and a decisive tie‑break. Her confidence surged in the second set as Rybakina's serve faltered, allowing Mertens to break twice and close the match swiftly. She now moves into the round of 16 against Marie Bouzkova, who herself survived a grueling three‑set win over Ludmila Samsonova.

Kostyuk's performance was marked by aggressive baseline play and a commanding third set, where she broke Navarro's serve four times. The triumph improves her season tally to 25‑5 and lifts her to 11th in the live rankings. Her next challenge will be a contest against Daria Snigur or qualifier Ashlyn Krueger, setting up another compelling narrative as the tournament progresses.